8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Madison
Ezra backs me up against his truck and kisses the hell out of me. If I weren’t so irritated with him, I’d find it hot. But I am upset, so after a minute or… maybe three, I push him back enough to break the kiss. “You don’t get to do that. You don’t get to kick me off your property, rescue me like I’m a damsel in distress, then kiss me like—”
“Like this?” Ezra teases his lips over mine. My mouth opens for him automatically but he doesn’t press for a deeper kiss.
“Like that.”
He cups my neck from the front, his hand a loose embrace, and uses his thumb to tilt my chin up so I look him in the eyes. “I didn’t kick you out, though it probably seemed that way. I’m sorry I was such an asshole.”
“Why were you?”
With his free hand, he brushes at the snow falling on my cheeks. It’s tender. Affectionate. “I was worried you’d be stuck in this. The last report said it could last a couple days. I didn’t want you stranded on the mountain with nowhere to go for help. I thought you’d make it back to town in time.”
He was worried about me? That’s why he wanted me to go so quickly? “I didn’t know.” About the storm or his concern.
“Once again I’m keeping you out in the cold. Get in the truck, let’s get you warmed up.”
He walks me around to the passenger side and opens the door for me. His dog is there as soon as I sit, climbing into my lap. He has to weigh at least sixty pounds. “Oof. I got news for you buddy. You are not a lap dog.”
“Coop! In the back!” Ezra growls when he gets in the truck.
The dog turns around on my lap and plants his butt, pressing his head against mine, while staring straight at Ezra in clear defiance.
Ezra swears. “Sorry. I’ll put him in the back.” He reaches for his door handle.
“Don’t worry about it. He’s good right here.” I wrap my arms around the dog and hug him. He’s nice and warm, thawing me out. I didn’t realize how cold I was until I was no longer kissing Ezra. “His name is Coop?”
“Cooper.” He starts the truck. “I can try to get you back to town.”
“If you do, won’t the roads be worse when you return?”
“Doesn’t matter. I need to be here in case there are any problems.”
“Then we’ll have to go back to your cabin.”
He glances at me. “You want to come home with me?”
“If you want me there. I don’t want you and Cooper getting stuck on the mountain.”
His eyes soften and he reaches over to trace my cheek. “I want you there, Madison. I’ve wanted you there since I bumped into you at the coffee shop.”
I don’t understand him. He’s done nothing but discourage spending time together.
Ezra easily turns his truck around on the narrow mountain road, then drives back to his cabin. I didn’t get a good look at it the first time. All I could see was Ezra without a shirt. Every corded muscle and ridge, the dusting of auburn hair that arrowed down into his jeans, and those broad shoulders. Watching him swing the ax as I pulled up to the cabin was like living a fantasy.
It’s on my tongue to ask him if he needs to chop more, so I can watch, when he turns off the truck and gets out, coming around to open my door.
Cooper jumps down and I get my first good look at the cabin. It’s two story and built with timber, no doubt from this very forest. There’s a porch that runs the length of the front and two small steps down to the drive. From the way Harmony described it, I thought the roof would be half caved in. This cabin looks well maintained. Surrounded by woods and nature, it seems so peaceful. Very different from the noisy, smog filled city that never sleeps. I love it.
Ezra settles his hand on the small of my back and guides me up the steps and inside. Cooper bounds in behind us and flops down in front of the fireplace.
The inside of the cabin is a mix of decades. The floor looks like it’s from the 1800s, the furniture from the 1980s, and the kitchen… the beautiful kitchen is brand new. I gravitate toward it, touching the clean quartz countertop and admiring the farmhouse sink and new appliances. “It’s charming.”
“Thanks. It’s all a work in progress, but the bones are sound.”
“This used to belong to Harmony’s family?”
“Yeah, did she tell you? Her brother, Gideon, and I served. We lost touch for a couple years, but he tracked me down. Gave me this place under the condition that I fix it up.”
“How long ago was that?”
“A couple of months ago. I haven’t been here long, but now that I am, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
“I understand.”
“You feel that way about New York?” he asks.
“No. I hate it there. In fact, one of the things I planned to do on this vacation was figure out where I was going next.”
Ezra removes my coat and hangs it by the door with his, then steers me to the couch and kneels down to stoke the fire back up.
“What did you decide?” he asks.
“Nothing yet.”
“What about your job? I heard you have a TV show?” He glances away. “Although I haven’t seen it.”
I chuckle softly. “That’s okay. I actually quit the show and my job.” At his inquisitive look, I add, “The stress of the show was getting to me. Giving me anxiety. I like Chef Alastair, but his behavior toward others made for a difficult work environment.”
Ezra nods. “Let me get you some hot tea.”
My heart warms when I realize he’s still taking care of me. I settle in deeper on the couch, watching the fire and the big dog stretched in front of it. “Cooper seems like an unusual name for a dog. What breed is he?” He’s got husky markings, but he’s tall and thin, with patches of curly hair.
“Frankenstein, I think. He looks like he’s made up of leftover parts.”
“Aww, I think he’s cute.”
Coop’s tail thumps against the floor a few times in response, which makes me laugh.
“Cooper was my grandfather’s name,” Ezra says a few minutes later.
I can feel the weight to his words. His grandfather meant a lot to him. He’s pouring the boiling water over the tea bags when I join him in the kitchen.
“I went to live with my grandparents when I was six. We lost my grandpa two years later. Then it was just me and my grandmother.”
“What happened to your parents?”
“My father split after my mother was arrested for selling drugs.”
“That’s awful!”
He shrugs. “It’s life. My grandmother died three weeks before I went into the service. I packed up all of her belongings, stored them, and never looked back.”
Sounds like a lonely existence. I reach for his hand, and he laces our fingers together.
“I’m sorry, Madison. For pushing you away. I was trying to protect you, and myself, I guess. I know you’re not planning to stay, and the more time I spend with you, the more I like you.”
“I like you too, Ezra.”
He leans down and brushes a kiss over my lips. It’s tender and sweet.
“Drink your tea. I need to go get my tools put away and check the generator.”
My stomach chooses that time to grumble loudly.
He chuckles. “Help yourself to anything you want.” With one last, light kiss, he strides out the door.
“Well, Coop. Looks like it’s you and me for a few minutes. I’m going to call Amanda, then I’ll see what I can make.”
My best friend is almost giddy knowing that I’m staying with Ezra for the duration of the storm. She promises to call my hotel for me and let them know I will be in to get my things as soon as I can. I’m supposed to fly home at the end of the week, and I don’t look forward to it.
After I hang up with her, I scout out the kitchen. Ezra’s brand new refrigerator is full of food, but he doesn’t have much in the way of spices. It reminds me of a class I had in culinary school where we were instructed to make a full meal, including dessert, with limited ingredients. It was a tough challenge, but I loved it.
On a whim, I decide to give myself the same challenge and film it for my social media fans. Some of them love to know what I’m cooking, and this will be a fun way to show them that you don’t have to have a lot of ingredients to make an amazing meal. Setting my phone up to record, I get started.